On the neeeeeedles

Eeek! Look at what I've been doing- knitting with two colours! And, so far, it's going well. My stitches are not perfect, they're a little uneven in places, but hey- if I wanted a perfectly knitted item I would just go and buy one. This is going to have handmade written all over it :-)



It's quite a slow process, for me. But I'm loving seeing the pattern emerge. I think that's why it's so slow- every row I knit I have to turn it round and gaze lovingly at it. I can't wait to see it as a jacket for my little princess to wear.

The pattern is from Debbie Bliss's 'Quick Baby Knits'. It's a lovely book and I'd like to try pretty much every single design in there. ~Sigh~ if only they were really quick...

Felt play food

Yeah, I know. I'm probably the last crafty person in the whole world to get on board with the whole felt playfood thing. But really, my kids are only just old enough to start using it. See? I was just waiting for the right time :-)

Anyway, on to what I've been up to. First up, we have choc chip cookies, fresh from the oven...


And sugar cookies too, for some variety...

If you're after something a bit more substantial and healthy, you can have a sandwich...

With doritos of course (well nobody can be 100 percent good all the time)

Hope you enjoyed your meal. We'll be adding more choices to the menu soon!

I also made this little apron for Luke (for real cooking/helping in the kitchen.) It is made from a dishtowel from the dollar store, I simply cut the top corners off and added a strip of binding on each side. So easy and cute!

Ps. All the food is handsewn, mostly blanket stitch. I like to handsew when I can, it's relaxing and takes me back to my roots!

Knitting Pattern Review- Two-Hour Scarf

I have made this scarf twice now (and forgotten to photograph it both times!) I love this pattern. It is so easy, is knit with one skein of Lion Brand Homespun yarn, and comes out unbelievably soft. It makes a wonderful last-minute gift!

Image from Lion Brand Yarns

It is knit on enormous needles (mine are sparkly plastic ones!) Which makes it knit up quick, though the needles are a bit heavy and cumbersome. I'm sure you could find some lighter, aluminium ones or something.

You have to try this pattern!

Manly blanket

This was one of my Christmas gifts for Trev this year. A manly blanket, lovingly crocheted by his adoring wife. What more could a guy want, right?!



The thing that still amazes me is that Trev had no idea that this was coming. I managed to complete the whole thing in my spare time (!) during the day while he was at work.




After sewing in all the ends (whew), I opted to crochet the squares together, using this great tutorial. Lucy is amazing!




I actually love the ridges it creates on the reverse side. Kinda makes it seem more rugged, don't you think?

The blanket measures about 50 inches by 45 inches.

Some thoughts-

• I wish I'd have followed advice to sew ends in as I went along. That was a boring task and almost became my downfall.
• I enjoyed buying the yarn on sale but it did lead to a rather un-coordinated colour scheme. Next time, I think I will plan it out and buy yarn in advance.
• I'll also play around with hook sizes- the fabric of this blanket is quite thick and heavy. I think it would be fun to do something lighter-weight.
• I also think it would be fun to do something very colourful, like this, maybe. Obviously wouldn't have worked as a Manly Blanket, but I do believe I'm next in line for an afghan.
• Trev likes it, and he uses it, which is what I was going for :-)
  
  

Sweet little dress

Here's a little top I whipped up for Lainey, using a pattern purchased from Leila and Ben. I loved the pattern so much that I have bought it in the baby sizes, and also the big girl sizes. I think I'll be making it a lot!

The pattern is the Sweet little Dress pattern, but obviously I modifed it to make a top instead. I think you could do a lot with this pattern. It was quick to put together and I love the way it looks. I'm almost think this could be Lainey's uniform- a simple yet girly top, paired with leggins.

Meet Sleepy Sue

Lainey's first dolly, for Christmas. Just what a first dolly should be- simple, soft and loveable!

Pattern/tutorial for Black Apple Doll found at Martha Stewart. I used a fuzzy, velvet-like material (from Walmart) for the hair. I embroidered the facial features instead of painting them on. I like how she turned out. Hope she gets a lot of lovin' from Lainey.

balls

Goodness me, is Christmas really only two weeks away? So little time...so much to do. I have a plan, though, and so far I am sticking to it and keeping up with my little time schedule that I've mapped out in my notebook. We'll see whether I can quilt Luke's quilt in two days, or whether that'll set me behind...

I've seen so many cool ideas for gifts. There are so many talented women out there and I've actually had to stop looking at certain blogs because my to-do list was getting too long. You have to remember that my talents are modest at best, and things take me a bit longer.

Anyway, here's a little project I did for Lainey, which only took a couple of hours, including hand-stitching. Not too bad!

The pattern is from Grand Revival Designs. (Scroll down a little way and the free patterns are located on the right-hand side)

I stuffed mine a little lightly, so Lainey can get her mitts around it easily, and added a little jingle bell inside each one. They will make a nice little Christmas gift. Wouldn't these be a cute baby-shower gift too?!